September 26

Evora is a charming Portuguese town with a large Cathedral (which changes the classification from town to city), with no great relics of note. It is also home to a well preserved Roman temple, built in the 1st century AD and kept intact thanks to its incorporation into a tower of the Evora Castle Tower and then its use as a butcher shop from the 14th century until 1846. In what we consider an attempt to make up for the lack of relics in the Cathedral, Evora is home to Capela dos Ossos – The Chapel of the Bones. This chapel was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan monk during the Counter Reformation to remind everyone that “We bones here, for yours await.” While, in our opinion, not as gruesome as the Capuchin Crypt in Rome, it runs a close 2nd. And, the message of both is similar, with the Capuchin Crypt’s motto of, “What you are now we used to be; What we are now, you will be.” Our suggestion is to not contemplate either message for too long, enjoy the gruesomeness of each place and move on to more pleasant endeavors.